Derelict building burns down, firefighters will search for bodies

San Angelo fire fighters douse hot spots at an abandoned building on the 300 block of North Magdalen on Monday morning, Sept. 17, 2012. The fire started around midnight. Authorities planned to check for bodies of people who might've been taking shelter in the building.

SAN ANGELO, Texas - Firefighters mopped up hot spots beneath layers of tin and old wood.

Later, they could be searching for bodies.

An abandoned industrial building in the 300 block of North Magdalen caught fire Sunday night, with fire and rescue crews receiving the call about the fire around midnight, San Angelo Fire Department Battalion Chief Royce Owens said.

Woody Epperson, who works for a nearby painting business, said he saw flames from the structure around 6 a.m.

He said he knew that people had been living in the abandoned building for a while.

The fire department had found sleeping bags inside the building, Owens said, but they were not able to make a full search because of the intensity of the fire inside.

"They weren't able to go deeply inside the structure," Owens said. "They had to go to a defensive strategy."

The building is surrounded by a gravel lot and set off from other buildings, so the fire was mostly contained, Owens said. At one point during the night, the building was completely involved in flames, he said.

One fire crew worked continually from midnight until 7 a.m., and Owens was with a group to relieve them, he said.

There were still pockets of fire beneath the debris, and the crews were dousing them Monday morning.

The fire had been difficult because of the collapsed tin and because there were heavy timber floors and a basement.